Although this blog’s focus is to provide a wide variety of information about Alonnisos, once again I feel compelled to post news about the recent passing of a beloved friend on the island who we met more than a decade ago. Her name was Nicoletta Trenta, and she lived in Torino, Italy, but owned a home in the Old Village area of Alonnisos for over twenty years. She usually spent entire summers on the island, and was known and loved by people everywhere on the island.
Andrea and I originally met Nicoletta (pictured between us to your right) during the summer of 2000, as her home was located just behind the rental house we were using that summer. We took an instant liking to her, and just about every evening after returning from my hike to/from Micros Mourtias beach I’d walk down to Nicoletta’s house and we’d have a cocktail together and a wonderful conversation. She always made me laugh like crazy; in fact, she often made everyone around her laugh because she had such an amazing sense of humor. When she combined her beautiful Italian accent with her sometimes interesting use of the English language, there were many times she was downright hysterical to listen to. She always made me smile, and because of it I even included her name in the acknowledgments pages of my first book.
Over the ten years we knew her, we had the pleasure of spending many great times with her, and she always kept us entertained. She really did revel in making people happy, and at times she also enjoyed being ornery just for the hell of it; the truth is we loved her either way. The last time we saw Nicoletta was in the summer of 2009, and it was at that time that she began to have some health challenges, though she never told anyone what was at issue. Despite those health problems, she remained quite busy and active that summer, and even joined us one time when we took a boating trip on my in-laws’ caique (see photo to your left of her and my step father-in-law Peter).
To say that I personally will miss Nicoletta’s presence on Alonnisos would be a major understatement. Andi and I both loved her like she was family, and the thought of returning to the island and not seeing her big smile and getting a warm hug and “kiss-kiss” from her is not a pleasant one. Nicoletta truly was part of the very fabric of the island for all the years she visited there, and there is no doubt she will be sorely missed by anyone who had the great pleasure to know her.
